“Billions of rupees were spent but not a single penny of corruption was committed during this time,” PM said.
Islamabad: (SHOAIB MEHMOOD) Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq has said that the present government has taken a number of initiatives to ensure good governance and the rule of the law in the region.
Talking to a private TV program, the AJK premier, while referring to the different challenges he had to face after assuming charge of the government, said, “I took charge of the government under difficult circumstances”.
He said that the cigarette mafia, timber mafia and food mafia were roaming freely in the state. The Prime Minister said that he rid the state of this mafia as soon as he took over the government and at the same time decided to carry out social reforms in the state. The PM said that the reformation process commenced from the prime Minister’s Secretariat. He said that along with the abolition of protocol, expenses of the Prime Minister’s Secretariat were reduced to a large extent.
The incumbent government, he said, spent 26 billion rupees during the six months. The PM said that during this period of time he alone managed and ran 26 ministries.
“Billions of rupees were spent but not a single penny of corruption was committed during this time,” he said.
About the wrongs committed by his predecessors, the PM said it would take a long time to fix them.
Referring to Kashmiris’ unconditional love for Pakistan, the PM said, “Kashmiris are Pakistanis by choice”.
He said that the Kashmiris had decided to align their fate with the state of Pakistan months before Pakistan came into being. He said that the Kashmiris, who have rendered immense sacrifices for Pakistan, don’t need anyone’s certificate.
He said that there were some public demands for which people resorted to protests. To fulfill the demands of the Action Committee, the PM said that a committee consisting of four federal ministers has been formed, which is headed by the defense minister.
Replying to a query regarding the Indian supreme court’s verdict on abrogation of article 370, the PM said that the Prime Minister of Pakistan during his address to the Legislative Assembly of Azad Kashmir adopted a firm stand on the issue.
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In response to a question, he said, the power struggle in Azad Kashmir has distanced us from the real issue, that is the freedom of the Indian occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
He said that it is high time that we get our priorities right. “We have to respond to India’s machinations in a befitting manner”, he said, adding that the government along with All Parties Hurriyat Conference would promote and project the Kashmir cause effectively at the international level.
Azad Kashmir, he said, would serve as the base camp for the freedom movement in its true sense. In response to another question, he said that Rathoa Hariyam Bridge could not be completed due to mega-corruption. He said that leftover work on the project would be completed soon.
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